4 candles

Ande, thanks for sharing that with us. As long as there are children in the world, hope for a better future will never go away. :)

Ande; Thank you for sharing that......... What do I think of that......? It was beautiful...and it is the way things should be....But ....sometimes it is so dark and painful that all the candles go out........and finding the matches or means to relight them in a very dark room.......... may never be possible..............

nms: The actual title is "Into the Wild" and it's setting is Alaska. I happened to have read the book, didn't catch the movie. The writer is Jon Krakauer, the same guy that wrote "Into Thin Air" (Mt. Everest and the 8 climbers that died while attempting to, or after having, summitted in May,1996), another book that may put you in a bummer mood.

originally posted by Peter Cruise Tom, I know of what you are saying, but I believe that the candles never do go out; it is we who close our eyes to them- and we can open our eyes again, can we but bear the brightness of their flames That was both poetic and profound I must say....But I think the story of the 4 candles is a beatiful idea that unfortunately often provides no real solace for some....As in the story below: (Warning ....Please don't read the passage below if you have serious problems with really disturbing and depressing stories) I remember watching a story on t.v. about a guy who was stuck in his truck for weeks because a terrible blizzard stranded him in his truck somewhere in the mountains of CA....He had no food and had to drink melted snow for water ....He had a pen and notebook though...so he kept a journal that lasted for weeks....He lost something like 100 pounds (or some other unbelievable amount of weight) before finally he was too weak to write in his journal...He said in the journal that he would dream of seeing his family again (wife and kids) and that gave him the hope to continue on....Well in the end he just drug out a very long, slow, and painful death from starvation because he was never rescued....Eventually when the snow melted enough for someone to reach and find him, he was already dead. I know this sounds horribly morbid and all....but reality can be horribly morbid no matter how much we don't want to hear about it.....Sorry if I sound like a pessimistic jerk.....but I believe life is a miserable unfortunate journey for many innocent victims.....I also want to hope as well....but I don't believe hope by itself can solve everything....i.e. I believe all the candles can (and sometimes do) go out no matter how much hope we might have....So the question is......When your life force eventually goes out (as in the case of this poor soul in the story above), then are any of the candles still lit?? Newmastersswimmer

Tom, I know of what you are saying, but I believe that the candles never do go out; it is we who close our eyes to them- and we can open our eyes again, can we but bear the brightness of their flames

Ande. With out hope, there are no lite candles. That is beautiful peace.:) :cool:

If you believe that death is the end it just makes it that much more important to enjoy life, I figure.

Originally posted by newmastersswimmer I know this sounds horribly morbid and all....but reality can be horribly morbid no matter how much we don't want to hear about it.....Sorry if I sound like a pessimistic jerk.....but I believe life is a miserable unfortunate journey for many innocent victims.....I also want to hope as well....but I don't believe hope by itself can solve everything....i.e. I believe all the candles can (and sometimes do) go out no matter how much hope we might have....So the question is......When your life force eventually goes out (as in the case of this poor soul in the story above), then are any of the candles still lit?? Newmastersswimmer If death is the end, then there is ultimately no hope for any of us. Or, in the words of the Christian scriptures, "But if the dead are not raised to life, then, as the saying goes, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.'" (I Corinthians 15:32b, TEV) Bob

Originally posted by Sam Perry If there was nothing at the end, then why continue on this journey at all? Beyond the idea of leading an enjoyable life and contributing to the enjoyment of those around us, some people like the idea of making the world a better place for those that follow, whether it's their children or a broader group.